The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally

I have been diabetic Type 2 since 2003 I was on Metformin 850mg at night and 60 units Actraphane. my symptoms were cold feet weather it was warm or cold my feet were always cold especially at night, I also had severe neausa from taking metformin so this year my family doctor decided I should try alternative treatment as Metformin caused severe side effects; I agreed and decided to start the Diabetes protocol offered at Uine Health Centre. my symptoms have greatly improved with no signs of blurred vision which I always seem to use to have or the frequent thirst. No more numbness of my feet I'm active again which has helped me loose weight. Since starting the diabetes formula my A1C is back to normal range and my blood sugars have stated normal. I'm surprised a lot of people with Diabetes T2 haven't heard of the formula. Visit uine healthcentre . co m

After reading his trilogy 1) Obesity code, Complete guide to Fasting and now Diabetes code, I can honestly say that the Diabetes code with its emphasis on the metabolism of sugars really shed light on understanding health.

The standout point in this book is the explanation of Fructose vs glucose metabolism. 

What is so interesting about this is that fructose does not cause satiety due to its metabolism in the liver only. The fact that it does not affect blood sugars or insulin to the extent that it can be seen on blood analysis.

The worrying part is that the liver becomes fatty and damaged over the long term if for instance sugary drinks are consumed regularly deteriorating health without any markers revealing the pre diabetic state that is slowly accumulating in the body.

Natural Fructose in Fruit off-course is combined with nutrients, fibers and enzymes and comes in low dosages compared to taking it as a refined sweetener in Sodas.

the key in nature is the poison is in the dose. In fruit the dose is easily tolerated by the body as nature intended and satiety will come as a result of the nutrients found in the fruit.

Sweetened drinks and foods have no natural live nutrients and therefore will not lead to satiety leading to overconsumption.

Further the process of the liver turning these fructose molecules into fat leads to obesity without any diabetic markers to reveal the ill stare occurring in the body. A sonar can detect fatty liver.

All Jason Fung’s books ate really insightful reading material and sheds light on the deeper underlying problems within the body.

 

Dr Fung reveals in this book how Type 2 Diabetes, accepted as a chronic lifelong illness in the medical world, is in fact treatable and reversible. 
He goes into detail how Type 1 Diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes are 2 totally different issues that needs to be dealt with as 2 different conditions. The same treatment cannot be applied to both. 
Where one is characterised by low insulin levels, the other is actually a condition caused by high insulin levels (insulin resistance). 
You will get in depth knowledge on how the conventional medical treatments such as insulin or other blood-glucose lowering drugs can actually exacerbate the issue or lead to other issues such as weight gain and heart disease. He shares instead methods and approaches that we can take to deal with the disease at the root cause.

This is an important and incredibly useful read for anyone who is pre-diabetic, diabetic, looking to avoid being diabetic or working with people who might be diabetic.
I personally think it's a must read as a trainer/coach as the chance of working with a client who may be diabetic or pre-diabetic is high. 
Having the understanding on how this issue unfolds internally, and what we can do to reverse or ensure we don't end up having Type 2 Diabetes is so important. 

It is interesting that in this book, Dr Fung goes on to talk about how the theory of calories in and out is not a useful tool or a solution in dealing with this disease.
Instead, he goes in detail on how the specific types of foods we eat, and the duration of how long we spend eating, can gradually lead to fatty liver, which in turn leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. This escalates into more issues if not tackled, and he goes into detail on how we can reverse this via 2 main changes: diet and intermittent fasting.

His diet prescription of eliminating sugar and refined carbohydrates, and replacing them with whole foods with healthy fats is something everyone can implement to kick start the journey to health. As a trainer, it is so important to understand the nutrition aspect so that we can delve further into the why and what instead of just a prescription of counting calories and meal restrictions. 
The 2 sample week-long meal plans given at the Appendix is very useful to start out with, as it details when and suggestions of what to eat for a full week, after which we can work on varying the meals but maintaining the meal times. 

Growing up, it was hard for me to understand diabetes. My friend who was so skinny and didn’t even eat that many sweets got diabetes (type 1) and it used to always confuse me because when I was young- I loved sugar and my mom used to always say, “my girl, with all those sweets, one day you will get sick with diabetes. Then you will never be able to eat sweets again.” So at that stage, I couldn’t understand how my friend could get it and I didn’t. As I got older, I understood my friend and my issues were different. I could prevent myself from getting diabetes, she unfortunately could not.  

This book teaches us so much about diabetes, that I feel the youth should read to understand the issues diabetes brings- especially type II when you are older. Years and years of poorly treating your body will reap havoc later on to come. This book can help facilitate one’s mindset to understand how to prevent long-term issues and not “shove the suitcase full until you can’t close it anymore,” as Dr Fung suggests. 

My father is diabetic, type II, I researched it and tried to learn as much as I could to understand and help him through it. So I thought I knew enough information about type II diabetes, but this book taught me so much more new information. Namely, Metformin is the most widely prescribed medication worldwide for type 2 diabetes (p. 78). It blocks the liver’s production of glucose and successfully treats type 2 diabetes without increasing insulin and, therefore, does not lead to weight gain. I learnt more about the Randle cycle, Your body simply cannot use both fuels simultaneously. You either burn sugar or fat, but not both (p. 113). As well as metabolic syndrome and the part it plays with diabetes. 

I learnt a lot about the different types of medication that can help diabetes and what they do in the body. There are medications that cause weight gain (such as Thiazolidinediones), some medications are neutral (such as Metformin) and others cause weight loss (such as Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2) along with other side effects such as lowering glucose, bloating and fluid retention etc. Canagliflozin, for example, that caused weight loss also caused increased risk of urinary tract infections and yeast infections due to increased urinary glucose concentration (p. 178). 

I also learnt a lot about the different types of surgery (such as Bariatric surgery) that can be done to help obese clients and reverse type II diabetes. The surgeries are not only for weight loss but all the metabolic abnormalities too such as insulin levels, fasting insulin and glucose levels. I like Dr Fung's opinion on them- that it should be a last resort, that there are easier and more affordable methods to help people, such as eating better and intermittent fasting. 

This was a great read. I've personally adapted my lifestyle around Intermittent fasting and have loved the results. I enjoyed reading ‘The Obesity Code’ - I learnt more about the benefits of fasting. This book is no different. One thing to take away is that type II diabetes is reversible. We need to control our blood sugar through food choices and food timing. It was great to read that through better food choices (less sugar, refined and processed carbs and more whole foods) and intermittent fasting that diabetes can be completely irreversible. Excessively high insulin levels lead to weight gain and excessively low insulin levels lead to weight loss. Fructose is poisonous in large doses and should be limited in one’s diet. One can change and improve their health if they put in the work. 

Dr. Jason Fung, in his report on Type 2 Diabetes (chronic and progressive disease), states that in his research, this disease can be reversed. Dr. Fung explains that conventional treatment of type 2 diabetes, with the use of insulin and other drugs, aggravates the disease, that is, diabetes and obesity are caused by high levels of insulin and insulin resistance. Still in its context, about the process by which type 2 settles, Dr. Fung explains how high insulin levels, hyperinsulinemia can be caused by metabolic syndrome (high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood pressure, obesity, overweight, sedentary lifestyle and high consumption of refined carbohydrates), causing an increase in blood glucose and an increase in insulin by pancreatic cells, where in response to this considerable increase in insulin, insulin resistance occurs, that is, if we treat type II diabetes with more insulin, we would be treating an addiction with more addictive drugs. Even if insulin resistance develops early in the disease, the diagnosis of diabetes will be long-term. Effects caused by elevated insulin levels include fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, fatty muscle tissue, and heart problems.
In the general context, Dr. Fung argues that modern medicine is not treating diabetes correctly. Injecting insulin in diabetics forces blood sugar to other organs, causing cancer and cardiovascular disease, using these conventional remedies to treat the symptoms rather than the cause does not work in the long term, but leads to considerable weight gain. Insulin treatments, including medications that only mimic blood glucose lowering properties, have no noticeable and significant benefits.
The symptom of high blood glucose (hyperglycemia) is caused by high insulin resistance. As it is considered a chronic and progressive disease, Type 2 can be reversible, without medication, avoiding fructose, reducing refined carbohydrates, eating healthy food and fasting. Dr.Fung advocates intermittent fasting as a therapeutic approach that establishes weight loss with profound effects on metabolism, thus regulating insulin levels in the body. The vast majority of type 2 diabetics use insulin, this disease has caused a worrying metabolic deficit reaching irreversible physical damage such as blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, amputations, dementia and nerve damage. Another method used to treat type 2 diabetes is bariatric surgery, due to the adjustment of the stomach, the body ingests less calories, less carbohydrates, our body protects itself from diabetes by storing fat, exporting triglycerides from the liver to other organs, increasing our sugar in the blood
Until today, the treatment for type 2 diabetes used by the vast majority of people affected by this disease is insulin, as mentioned above, and other drugs that increase insulin. Dr. Fung highlights the absurdity of treating hyperinsulinemia with more insulin.
Returning to the great enemy in Type 2 Diabetes and the search for quality of life, refined carbohydrates, which are the majority of processed foods, including sugar in its composition, constant exposure to sugar and the insulin response leads to resistance, which causes more insulin production. The glycemic index of carbohydrates changes when it is refined and processed.
 All conditions associated with diabetes (obesity, insulin resistance, beta cell dysfunction) are like the body's solution to the cause of excess sugar in the bloodstream. Metabolic Syndrome is another factor, and one of the main villains in Type 2 Diabetes, processed foods are bad, sugar is bad, and fructose is even worse. Fung's recipe for reversing the effects of constantly high insulin levels includes avoiding insulin and processed foods.
Regarding fructose, the liver is the organ that is in charge of converting it into fat, when fructose overloads the liver, the fat accumulates in it, this accumulation in the short and medium term, will find a way to spread, affecting the muscles , heart and pancreas. Upon reaching the pancreas, the cells that produce insulin are damaged and the body loses its ability to handle glucose.
The body's solution is to get rid of this sugar. Through intermittent fasting and a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, drug-free diet that lowers blood glucose. The conventional treatments we've tried over time haven't worked because they're just controlling the symptoms, not the cause. Type 2 diabetes can be corrected by reeducating their eating behavior, that is, healthy and unprocessed foods and fasting leads to low carbohydrate consumption, decreasing insulin production.
Every Professional who promotes Health, Coach, must understand and understand high glucose levels, metabolic syndrome, T2D, high insulin, as well as intermittent fasting, which helps to improve body composition, recovery and physical performance, helping to prevent disease, not only of Diabetes in a general context. The purpose is to lose fat and control insulin and blood glucose levels. Another factor is nutrition, it is the basis and explaining why refined sugar is the great villain, for the student, is of paramount importance for him to reach a positive result in his training. By understanding that abdominal obesity is the primary factor in Diabetes 2, and that even thin people are at risk of triggering the disease in relation to nutrition according to the consumption of calories, through hormonal control, it means that obesity is also a hormonal imbalance and not just caloric. As a Coach, you must remember that type II diabetes is reversible, many students may develop problems with their weight in the future, and many will have an early onset of Type II. Therefore, knowing the potential cause and the systems to reverse it should help create good support for gradually interfering with the medication of these students, fighting this chronic disease among others, guiding them to follow a diet low in carbohydrates and fats and get a better quality of life. While exercise isn't one hundred percent effective when it comes to caloric balance, it does help to increase insulin sensitivity. Thus, promoting quality of life results in the long-term prevention of the development of type 2 diabetes, as well as other chronic diseases, in the target audience of gyms.

The Diabetes Code
By Jason Fung

“TDC” examines the relationship between elevated insulin levels, type 2 dibetes (T2D), and other diseases associated with metabolic syndrome. Dr. Fung starts the book by discussing how T2D became a global epidemic, the significant differences between T2D & T1D, and how T2D affects the entire body, leading to metabolic syndrome, cancer, and other diseases. “TDC” points to the major culprit of T2D being hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance. Elevated insulin levels are a byproduct of poor dietary choices, mostly stemming from the overconsumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Dr. Fung then concludes the book with how-to (and how-not-to) treat T2D.

Main takeaways:

Hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance:
T2D is caused by chronically elevated insulin levels. Although developing early in the disease process, the diagnosis of diabetes will follow by a decade or more. Once sufficient insulin resistance has been established the body succumbs to beta cell dysfunction (pancreatic blow-out). Other adverse effects of long-term elevated insulin levels include, fatty liver, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and fatty muscle tissue. Two vicious cycles sustain T2D, the hepatic and the pancreatic. Dr. Fung states, “The hepatic cycle develops first. Excessive glucose and fructose ingestion leads to Hyperinsulinemia, fatty liver and then insulin resistance. The vicious cycle has begun. High insulin resistance further stimulates Hyperinsulinemia, perpetuating the cycle. This dance goes around and around, gradually worsening each time”.

Fructose-insulin connection:
Chronically elevated insulin levels are caused by the overconsumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates. Sugar consumption has skyrocketed in the past century. Most notably in the 60’s upon the introduction of high-fructose-corn-syrup. HFCS is found in almost every processed and packaged food (thank you low-fat craze). Too much fructose in the diet eventually leads to fatty liver, insulin resistance, and fucose toxicity...basically a slow poisoning of the body.

Metabolic syndrome:
Another health dysfunction caused by elevated insulin levels is metabolic syndrome (MetS). One is considered to have MetS when three of the following five conditions are met: Abdominal obesity, low HDL, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, and elevated blood glucose. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes have all been related to MetS (with the common cause being hyperinsulinemia). MetS is truly THE major disease of modern civilization. Take one look at the average american and you can see the unhealthy relationship between food, obesity, and metabolic dysfunction.

How to treat T2D:
Due to its chronic and progressive nature, T2D is fully reversible and preventable without medications. This is done by following four steps: 1) Avoiding fructose, 2) Reducing refined carbohydrates (increasing natural/healthy fats), 3) Eating real food, and 4) Fasting.
Dr. Fung emphasises a diet high in healthy fats and low in carbohydrates (LCHF). Getting rid of highly-processed carbohydrates will have an immediate effect on elevated insulin levels. Dr. Fung also advocates for some type of time restricted feeding window, aka intermittent fasting (he often states fasting preference is different for each individual). Fasting is rooted deep in our ancestry, and is one of the most therapeutic approaches to weight loss. Fasting can have profound effects on the metabolism, as well as, naturally mitigating insulin levels.

Personal thoughts on the book:
“The Diabetes Code” is a great companion book to “The Obesity Code”. Both books emphasize the global obesity epidemic we are currently suffering through and how we can solve it.
Understanding the relationship between high glucose levels, high insulin, T2D, metabolic syndrome, sugar, and processed carbohydrates is a must for any health & fitness professional. I highly recommend this book (and following Dr. Fung on YouTube) for any gym owner, coach, or trainer. Additionally, as a practitioner of intermittent fasting, I HIGHLY recommended fasting to anyone looking to improve body composition, recovery, and athletic performance.

This book is great to get an idea and a lot of informations about Diabetes and its two forms.
Also it is the best way to show anyone why CrossFit is one of the best prehab methods and a way to lead a healthier life.
How many diseases could be prevented if we would act like shown in this book.
Side factors like cysts, kidney failure, heart diseases, dementia, stroke, infertality and as a further result of DM II amputations and blindness.
Treat the course!
A further great part of this book is shown by the explanation of the fundamentally false treatment. The common treatment is actually the treatment of symptoms and not the causes. The symptom high blood glucose (hyperglycomia) is caused by high insulin resistance.
Furthermore i learned a lot about the correlation between diabetes and obesity. As an example was mentioned that a plus of 20-25 kilogram on weight leads to a 11.300% higher risk of Diabetes Mellitus II. 35+ kilogramm to a 17.000% higher risk.
After those mindblowing statements the author explained in an easy way how to prevent DM II:
normal weight
physical excercise
healthy diet
This reminded me of the pyramid I was introduced during my CrossFit Level 1. Nutrition is the base of all and not to mention that you do have physical excercise if you do CrossFit.
So how do you prevent DM II - do CrossFit!
Regarding the nutrition the book gave a few interesting facts:
high in cereofibre
high in polysaturated fats
low in transfats
low in glycamic load
I found the excurse in the field of glycamic load very helpful: glycamic load = glycamic index x gram of CHs and gave me a good explanation why refined sugar is not good. On the other side it shows why it´s okay to have an normal intake of fat and protein.
Very interesting was the chapter of abdominal obesity and how it is the mainfactor of DM II and why even thin people are in danger (thin on the outside, fat on the inside) and also the role of visceral fat (liver, pancreas).
Regarding nutrition was also interesting that there´s no correlation between calories and diabetes, because the amount of calories isn´t responsible for DM II.
The body adjustes (besometabolic rate) and if it gets less calories it slows down… what means: no weight loss.
Hormones control hunger with a start & stop „button“. So the calorie consumption is under hormonal control which means obesity is also a hormonal imbalance and not a caloric ones.
The insulin imbalance…
Simple as it is: Insulin + = weight gain / Insulin - = weight loss
I am a physiotherapist and was educated in those topics. But the book showed me great ways to explain Diabetes to clients. These picturelike words and explanations are very helpful to bring the topic to anyone.

Growing up I witnessed many members of my extended family diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Except we didn't call it diabetes.  It was sugar diabetes or just plan sugar. At the time, I had no idea how accurate our colloquialism was. It wasn't some wayward & unpredictable reaction that cause this seemingly & progressive disease. It was the unregulated amounts of sugar that were part of our typical meals. I saw these family members attempt to lose weight by eating less fat and trying any number of diet pills with various levels of temporary success. But the hushed tones with which we talked about so & so being diagnosed with sugar revealed how serious it was. We knew this disease was a death sentence. And it was a death sentence that made your remaining years miserable. 

In the Diabetes Code, Jason Fung blows apart all these assumptions that were part of my youth. Diabetes is not only treatable but it is entirely avoidable. It is not caused by some random disfunction within the body. It is the result of our bodies reacting to an overload of what until very recently was not so readily available: highly processed, mostly sugar foods. The one part of my youthful understanding that still makes sense is the names we used: sugar diabetes or just plain sugar. How ironic that we spoke the cure without realizing it.

Fung's potent use of metaphors like the sugar delivery man and the subway train that leaves its glucose passengers on the platform, help make a complex mechanism understandable.  His easy sense of humor makes this an easy and enjoyable read and his optimism for the future brings hope to what is a seemingly daunting medical crisis.  

I particularly enjoyed his dissection of the Biggest Loser diet, given that a reunion show never happens because they all gained their weight back and then some. The ubiquitous urging to eat less, move more is insufficient in helping this ever-increasing problem. 

The potent combination of intermittent fasting and low carb eating should be the first stop for anyone on the diabetes subway.

You can't use medicine to cure a dietary disease

That's the over all theme that I got from readying Dr. Fung's "The Diabetes Code". 

This was good follow up book to Dr. Fung's "The Obesity Code", and many similar themes were talked about in both books.

How the root of diabetes (and obesity leading to the onset of type II) is hormonal (Insulin) and what we eat (processed carbohydrates, sugar, glucose, and fructose being really bad since only the liver can metabolize it) plays a big role in the growing rate of obesity and Type II Diabetics.

A large portion of the book reviewed how many of the medications prescribed for Type II don't work in the long run and in many that prescribe Insulin actually lead to more weight gain and again a vicious loop of creating insulin resistance along with all the side effects of metabolic syndrome.  I loved the analogy of if a water pipe broke in the house you would spend all your time looking for buckets, you would find the source of the overflow and stop it. So instead of looking for medication (bucket) look at what your eating (source).

The book also talked about refined carbohydrates being a big issue and not just the over arching title of "carbs" being bad. How the glycemic index of the carbs changes (for the worse) when its refined and processed. When refined carbs (sugar) is a main staple in anyone's diet, you quickly getting into a state of insulin resistance.  Insulin resistance then becomes an overflow problem (water pipe analogy above), pushing fat around our organs (metabolic syndrome).

The book ended with the push of LCHF and IF as tools to reverse Type II. I've personally adapted my lifestyle around Intermittent fasting and have loved the results.  It's a tool I teach many clients that are working towards fat loss and managing their insulin and blood glucose levels. Many are open to IF since the medication they've been on (for a long time for some) hasn't shown the results, and many times have lasting side effects.

As a trainer, one thing to take away is that Type II diabetes is reversible.  Many of our clients now and in the future will struggle with their weight and many will have early onset Type II or have diabetes that walk into your gym.  So knowing the potential cause and systems to reverse it should help create a good support in getting your clients off of medication and towards a better quality of life.

A quick and easy read, thorough and thoughtful.  What surprised me the most is that so much of this is not new information. Perhaps hanging around this crowd long enough, the cause of Type II diabetes is commonplace and accepted here- too much carbohydrate.  The answer- control your blood sugar through food choices and food timing.  It's only controversial outside this circle, and with medical providers who are pressured to prescribe costly medications not lifestyle and dietary advice.  

The part that surprised me was the cursory mention of leptin, leptin resistance, and the role of leptin in glucose metabolism.  The books focus was primarily insulin, which makes for a more straightforward read of a topic with nuances and intricacies.  

The recommendation of fasting was bold.  It's not one of the most accepted methods of eating and to outright sing its praises is gutsy.  

The Diabetes Code reiterates something we all know and apply to many things- "It's simple, it's not easy"

Thanks for the recommended reading!

 "The Diabetes Code" neatly presents the means by which the modern Western diet stresses the body's systems and creates Type-II diabetes. The book was a worthwhile read for better understanding how we create Type-II Diabetes, though since I read it immediately following "The Obesity Code," some of it seemed repetitive.
     Fung goes into some detail about the process by which type 2 takes hold. He explains how constant, elevated levels of insulin (mainly due to carbohydrate intake) lead to insulin resistance, obesity, fatty liver, and other symptoms of metabolic syndrome (high triglycerides, low HDL, high blood pressure. Fung does discuss the absurdity of treating Type-II diabetes with more insulin (as Davis compares it in "Undoctored," it's like treating cocaine addiction with more cocaine).  I appreciated the discussion of fructose (only your liver can metabolize fructose) and fatty liver. Some of the charts, like Figure 9.2, provide clear, simple representations of the complexity of issues. The discussion of how type 2 damages the body from the inside out was new to m. I knew type 2 could lead to amputations and blindness, but I didn't know how or why until reading Fung's explanation.
     Those of us with long term exposure to the nutritional approaches valued in the CrossFit community will find many familiar ideas in this this book - processed foods are bad, sugar is the worst, and fructose is even worse than sugar.  Fun's prescription for reversing the effects of constantly elevated levels of insulin (for a pre-diabetic or type 2 person) include avoiding sugar and processed foods. He again argues for fasting, which makes sense to me for the following reasons: the body will use available glucose for energy first. The only way to get the body to use fat, and particularly abdominal/liver/visceral fat, for energy is to starve the system of glucose so the gluconeogenesis begins. This only happens in the 18+ hours of fasting range. There isn't total agreement on the details, but I think it's unlikely that someone reverses pre-diabetes or diabetes through "moderation." I've been fasting for 16-18 hours each day for a few weeks and I would recommend the experience for any trainer. 

The Diabetes Code

	After reading The Obesity Code I was really curious to see what Dr. Fung had to share about reversing type 2 diabetes. Through his research it is clear diabetes and obesity share the same root cause... high insulin levels and insulin resistance. Currently a large number of type 2 diabetics are being treated with either more insulin or bariatric surgeries.

	Type 2 diabetics are in a state of extreme metabolic distress causing problems like blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, amputations, dementia, infertility, and nerve damage. All of these symptoms are due to the underlying issue of insulin resistance so it's really concerning to know the medical community is making the disease worse by giving more insulin. Just like many substances the more we take the greater the resistance and the more the body needs to create the desired effect. Taking insulin is not helping improve this disease it is actually making it worse!

	The other method to treating type 2 diabetes is with bariatric surgeries and they have shown that this disease is reversible. Because of the surgical adjustment to the stomach or digestive process the body takes in less calories and ultimately less carbohydrates. The great news here is we can help reverse type 2 diabetes without the physiological and financial burden of surgery!

	The safest and most effective way to reverse type 2 diabetes is to improve the way we eat and the use of 24-36 hour fasting protocols. The answer to reversing the most deadly and prolific diseases on the planet is simple... eat meat, vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Following this solution lowers insulin levels, insulin resistance, blood glucose, and the symptoms that plague type 2 diabetics. I am empower with this solution and the change it can create in my community!

I read Dr. Fung's other book, The Obesity Code prior to this book. Both books cover a lot of the same subjects. This book even includes some of the same analogies. Overall, I found the Obesity Code to be more engaging since the subject was broader, but The Diabetes Code was still a good refresher. 

Diabetes has exploded in the United States since the 1950's, which coincided to the release of the Food Pyramid with processed carbohydrates at the base. Countries around the world have followed in the United State's foot steps as industrialized food has spread across the globe. 

Most processed foods include sugar to increase sales and shelf life. Constant exposure to sugar and the insulin response leads to insulin resistance, which causes obesity plus more insulin production. All conditions associated with diabetes (obesity, insulin resistance, beta cell dysfunction) are the body's solution to the single root cause: too much sugar in the blood stream. The body's solution is to get rid of this sugar. 

Dr. Fung argues that modern medicine is not treating diabetes correctly. Injecting diabetics with insulin forces sugar from the blood into other organs, causing cancer and cardiovascular disease. Insulin treatments, including medications that simulate only the blood glucose lowering properties of insulin, carry no perceptible benefits and significant risks. 

Dr. Fung finishes by laying out how to effectively treat diabetes: 
Bariatric surgery - this forces severe caloric restriction and cures diabetes
Eat Natural fats, reduce added sugars and processed carbs
Intermittent Fasting is better than surgery at lowering weight and reducing glucose. Fasting produces twice the weight loss. Intermittent fasting reduces insulin and insulin resistance. 

Diabetes is such a common disease you hear about it everyday. When people get their general check ups this is one of the first things people latch on to. It’s odd how people and myself always get praised when they have healthy blood sugar levels and a1C. You get treated like an anomaly while it should be the bare minimum of “good values” to achieve. You hear about drugs on the TV, ads on the radio, and everyone knows several family members and friends that have diabetes. Dr. Fung has an interesting analogy of how to look at the disease. I’ve always viewed it as a local disease. Sugars are elevated, the liver isn’t doing so hot, and people get light headed sometimes if things aren’t properly managed. When he calls it a disease of the blood it really hits you how widespread the effects of a disease like this are. It paints the picture way more accurately and it helps feel the impact of how dangerous it will be. It’s not just about sugar it’s about the whole body, all organs, all muscle, all body parts. Being a disease of the blood would actually be better for the brain, however, the glucose can pass through the blood brain barrier so it’s really a blood disease AND brain disease. 
	I had a discussion with a family member a few weeks ago when it was reported that people who are diabetic have a much worse outcome after contracting COVID-19. This family member who has diabetes said -”Why would that be the case when COVID-19 attacks the lungs?”. I didn’t have a great answer but know I can see how the dots can be connected pretty easily. Describing diabetes as a disease of the blood makes it much easier to envision how this could be. So much blindness, neuropathy, and amputations could be avoided through lifestyle changes. Hearing that 6 billion dollars is spent on insulin every year is such a waste of money when the remedies could be so much more cost effective. Dr. Fung gives the reader many practical tips for improving their health. Nutrition and diets advice is usually only don’t do this, don’t eat that type of advice. Seeing some clear points on what to focus on makes lifestyle change way more likely for a reader picking up this book. Fasting, eliminating sugary carbs, and increasing fat intake can be such a powerful change for many people. The message of fat clogging up peoples arteries is still such a common misconception that will require work to clear up. I do feel positive about the change and hopefully this can save many from blindness, cancer, stroke, neuropathy, amputations, and sadly much more. 

I have to admit that I enjoyed the obesity code so much, I jumped on the opportunity to read another one of Dr Fung’s books. The diabetes code had some similarities to the obesity code in that he focuses on insulin as the main culprit to causing type 2 diabetes. When we eat too much sugar it sends our insulin levels way out of control.

Often we think of our blood sugar levels as the main culprit. However, if we are to reframe our philosophy to think about insulin as the main culprit it changes our ideas around a solution. For example, someone suffering from type 2 diabetes is often encouraged to inject themselves with more insulin if they eat something that will raise their blood sugar levels. This presents a problem if the culprit is actually insulin. You’re just injecting yourself with more of the problem. The solution becomes to control your insulin levels naturally with foods that don’t spike your blood sugar level.

I especially enjoyed his illustration of the fully packed suitcase before leaving on vacation. Once your cells are full and insulin is secreted the sugar has nowhere to go. Your cells can no longer fit any more sugar. Therefore, if the sugar begins to be secreted through the urine you are now insulin resistant. The cells being saturated with sugar is a real problem.

I still remember growing up in the 90’s with the classic time magazine of the eggs and the bacon in the shape of a sad face. Saturated fat was always that thing we blamed for all our heart disease. Ironic how heart disease has quadrupled since 1980. In general when dealing with the public who walks through my doors I find the preconceived idea that saturated fat is dangerous is still quite prevalent. I believe it will take another couple decades to undo.

Dr. Fung’s book “The Diabetes Code” was a fantastic read. The points that he makes, along with the statistics presented, as well as how he explains diabetes, make it a “can’t put this down” book. I think the mind blowing part that I didn’t even know, was that insulin causes weight gain. I appreciate the fact that he leaves out T1 Diabetes in this whole discussion. T2 diabetes is what we have to focus on as a whole, not to discount T1. T2 is reversible, T1 is not. 

His statement that they have essentially given up finding a cure for T2, and pronouncing it a chronic disease is depressing. What causes me more angst is that doctors do not try to help in anyway, going back to “here’s more insulin”. This whole thing reminds me of “Undoctored”, where doctors just prescribe what they learn in school. Where Fung describes T2 as a dietary disease, that’s where the whole thing makes sense. Many people should read this book, to gain an understanding that with some dietary changes, mainly a carbohydrate reduction, would do wonders for their health. I continually think back to a quote I remember from Crossfit, “Off the couch, off the carbs”. 

If we look at a carb reduction, the first place we need to look is refined carbs. Not only is that a start, but I feel drastic improvements in health will begin. Refined carbs will lower sugar intake, which will start to send T2 diabetes away. Once we go past that, we can then begin to further decrease our carb intake, to gain insulin sensitivity back. 

However, I fear most people reading this will say “carbs are beneficial!”. While carbs will give us energy, we have to remember the context in which this is being presented. These are not elite athletes we are talking about, who are not near diabetes as they are among the fitness end of the spectrum. We are talking about the average person. 

With how CrossFit prescribes nutrition, resolving T2 diabetes would become very simple. Even taking the very first part of Coach Glassman’s quote: “Eat meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds…” that alone would help people reduce their insulin, and help cure T2 diabetes. The sooner we begin reducing carbs, even refined carbs for a start, the sooner we begin to a healthier life.

I’m glad I came across Fung’s books. They are easy to read and understand, and he presents very valid points. 

The Diabetes Code does a very thorough job of explaining—in relatively layman’s terms—what Type-2 Diabetes is, what it is currently treated with, why those treatments miss the mark, and how the illness can be effectively reversed with a more simple, yet properly targeted approach to treatment and overall health—a low carb diet and fasting.

I really appreciated how Dr. Fung explained the processes by which glucose and fructose are broken down and stored within the human body, and how the constant overconsumption of refined carbohydrates leads to hyperinsulinemia and the inability to fully and properly “dump” our glucose stores, which leads to unhealthy accumulations of both subcutaneous and visceral fat (among a number of other potentially harmful and deadly things). 

He provides a number of analogies that make understanding the cellular-level processes easily digestible and retainable. My favorite was a rather thorough one, taking up a majority of Chapter 10, called “Diabetesville: A parable.” It’s elementary, but neatly packages the basic properties of the onset of hyperinsulinemia, and the subsequent creation and distribution of fat in and around our organs. These little vignettes did a great job of emphasizing that, even for those who are very physically fit, prolonged poor dietary choices can and will negatively affect our organ health.

Dr. Fung’s book is directly in line with, but dives much deeper into, the nutrition principles we’re taught in our Level 1 seminar and handbook. It’s a rather quick, gripping read that I highly recommend for those wanting a much more thorough understanding of the “why” behind our prescription of eating meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. 

My wife diabetes symptom was diabetic neuropathy. We didn't know she was diabetic until we went to my doctor complaining about constant foot pain. After a multitude of tests for everything from rheumatoid arthritis to muscular dystrophy, an emergency room physician checked her blood sugar.After reviewing a letter written by my doctor, where I read he had prescribed Celebrex for her due to pain of Arthritis which had really messed her neck, back and knees, I found that one of the side effects of Celebrex is Diabetes, my wife was able to effectively cure herbal condition multivitamincare org It is too much for a patient to endure such as they slowly begin to pass away if the right medication is not taken organic herbal treatment.Having a positive mind is a powerful tool .My prayers goes out to diabetes patients and their care givers.

It’s astonishing that early in 2013 an estimated 11.6 percent of Chinese adults had type 1 diabetes. According to official statistics data, this number has been increasing since 1980 and is now far higher than any other countries in the world.
There’s an urgent need of intervention. Fortunately, as Dr. Fung wrote in his book, type 2 diabetes is fully reversable and preventable.

We CrossFit trainers are life rafts that stand at the frontline of fighting against chronic disease. As a CrossFit trainer in China, I’m heavily responsible to help people avoid chronic disease like diabetes.

I have alway been educating my clients to eat a low-carb, high-fat diet. CrossFit’s diet prescription is so simple that people like us with a modern urban lifestyle can follow earsily on a daily basis. Just like we learned from CrossFit Level 1 Cert Course, “Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch, and no sugar.” This perfectly abides by the principle in Dr. Fung’s book. I myself has been following this guide for years. I know it works.

In China, as a staple, white rice and flours are essential in daily meals traditionally. People can even eat only these without any meat, vegetables, protein and fat. Even worse, some people especially kids, put sucrose into rice as their meals. This kind of eating habit has ingrained for hundreds and thousands of years. If you ask someone not to eat rice or flour, they must think you are insane. It’s hard to change one’s mind. So I almost talk to my clients every single day to persuade them to stop eating refined carbohydrates and added sugar. Fortunately, as their friend, they trust me. More and more people start to give up refined carbs and sugar, or at least reducing their intake for a start.

Dr. Fung’s book gives me a new perspective on losing weight and preventing diabetes. That solution is quite simple:
1. Stop putting sugar in (low-carbohydrate diets, intermittent fasting).
2. Burn remaining sugar off (intermittent fasting).

By combining with the elegant and easily implement CrossFit prescription in hand, we are confident to stay safe from chronic diseases.

Doctor Fung has such an amazing ability to articulate his theories and methods to the layperson.

Even the most complex endocrinology is explained elementarily. Allowing the untrained to understand how obesity and diabetes works with amazing clarity.

I would urge all CrossFit trainers and athletes to become familiar with Doctor Fungs work. It will challenge your most inner beliefs about our eating Behaviours.

 All be it for the betterment of each of us as individuals and those we have the pleasure of guiding throughout our lives.

I Loved this book. I am armed to help the most helpless of eaters change for the better.

As both Matthieu and Tyler have pointed out, Dr. Fung has an uncanny ability to convey his point to the layman. One of the most memorable paragraphs in this book for me was when he created some interesting parallel between non-medical situations where the cure would not be more of the cause. He discussed how nobody would agree that treating a sunburn with an additional session of sunbathing would  be a "winning strategy", he continued with a laundry list of similar examples, all to highlight the point that if the root of the problem has to do with an excess of insulin, the solution is obviously not going to be add more insulin (128). This book is full of similar analogies that found to be very helpful in order to understand the concepts he discusses in The Diabetes Code. The most impactful of his arguments is that diabetes is reversible, for this reason, it should be treated as such. The path to reversing diabetes has to do with diet and the timing of meals, not injecting insulin and obsessing over blood sugar. As always, thank you for the read and I hope that the book club comes back in the future.

What a book.
Dr. Fung has showed again the main fault over overall medicine treatment faults.
It's curious that the doctors (most of them) do not try to aim for the cause but instead treat the symptoms.
Doctors should avoid insulin if the main cause of diabetes type 2 is too much insulin that brings a blind system that requires more insulin and it goes on and on until a sickness.
The book is elegant and much simple explaining each step that leads people from a regular health to sickness.
The most important element a clear vision the Diabetes type 2 is totally related to eating behaviours and it can be fixed, with a simple and easy tool, Healthy and no processed food.

The fasting suggestion makes us to think about how a pre civilisation human being used to it and how much time they were fasting between meals as well.
So fasting and health food which means low carb and non precessed can decrease the insulin production and increase our sensitivity when eating, which goes directly a low sugar in our body.
The big mistake is that people and doctors were and still been  cheated by food industry and have a wrong vision about heath food. During the book we can learn and know the dangerous situation when we eat too much fructose and we need to know the most of processed foods have processed corn syrup or another kind of fructose on in.
Processed food and cheap and a poison because they contain a cheap and easy made ingredient (corn syrup), it makes food profitable, drugs needed, doctors well paid.
Its a continuum, fix the problem with fasting and low carb food, is not an option because it would cause a marketing disruption.
He could go further and bring more data about excises, I disagree with him, movement is a sugar burner and can be helpful against diabetes type 2 or obesity .
The two Dr. Fung's  books (The diabetes Code and The obesity code) are in my option and easy and cheap source of information for regular people, doctors and coaches.
Simple and clear way to put the things back on track.

The Diabetes Code: Prevent and Reverse Type 2 Diabetes Naturally by Dr. Jason Fung is well structured and just like The Obesity Code, it uses relatively plain language to describe a topic that can otherwise be overwhelming for the layperson. Despite the serious topic, Dr. Fung manages to keep it light and sprinkles in humor and numerous great examples and analogies (e.g. sugar and clothes in a suitcase or how resistance works, p. 85).

The bottom line and solution are described very clearly:
Diabetes is simply too much sugar in the body (p. 17). The solution is
1. To put less sugar into your body, stick to whole, natural, unprocessed foods. Eat a diet low in refined carbohydrates, moderate in protein and high in natural fats. (p.19).
2. To burn off sugar, a popular strategy is to fast for 24h, two to three times per week. Another popular approach is to fast for 16h, five to six times per week (p .21).

This is great advice that Dr. Fung does not hide: In fact, he included it right at the start in his quick start guide. Given the fact that compliance and effort to combat diabetes can be a major obstacle, I think this is a great idea to get someone started: Instead of having to read through the entire book, one can get motivated by seeing right away how simple it can all be. I can see some people rolling up their sleeves right there, eager to get started.

One thing I am a bit confused about is the repetitive referencing of the Body Mass Index (BMI) as a marker for obesity (e.g. BMI as indicator of obesity, p. 60). The body mass index only takes into account body weight and height. It does not take body composition (which could indicate obesity) into account, at all. As per CDC, the BMI “is not diagnostic of the fatness or health of an individual”. Unsurprisingly, Fung himself comes to the conclusion that the BMI “is not the best indicator of type 2 diabetes risk” (p.64). “The key clinical indicator is clearly not body fat as measured by the body mass index.” (p.65). While at it, I would do away with the BMI for these purposes, as it is sometimes mistaken as measuring body fat / obesity.

On a personal note, I have been practicing Dr. Fung’s 2nd approach for burning off sugar (although not with this goal) since around the time I finished his “Obesity Code” in March/April: I “fasted” around 16h each day (from dinner to lunch). It was a lot easier than I expected. The amount of food has not changed much and I maintained my body weight (I would not want to lose much as body fast was low to start). My energy throughout the day is high (including workouts that I do in a fasted state). I might now experiment with an occasional 24h fast. I can see how this is working for reversing diabetes and gladly add Dr. Fung’s advice to my toolkit for helping people with this topic.

Up till now, the standard treatment for type 2 diabetes was insulin and other drugs that raise insulin. This is a disease marked by chronically high blood glucose and insulin. Dr. Fung is quick to point out the absurdity of treating hyperinsulinemia with more insulin.

The situation reminds me of my all-time favorite moment from the Simpsons. Homer tried to steal a can of soda from a vending machine but got his arm stuck. After trying everything they could think of to free him, a fireman was about to cut his arm off with a saw. As the blade draws near, a bystander asks Homer if he has tried letting go of the can…

I feel like we may have reached a similar point in modern medicine. Doctors need to stop treating insulin like a vitamin that enables people to drink more soda. It’s time to let go of the can.

This is the third book I’ve read by Dr. Fung (The Obesity Code and The Complete Guide to Fasting) and I don’t think I will ever tire of his writing style. He’s a truly gifted explainer. Diabetes is a deadly serious and complex topic, but this book is written with an optimistic tone. Over the past year I’ve learned much about the horrors faced by people with type 2 diabetes. It’s so bad that it’s sometimes hard to read. They face higher risks of heart disease, cancer, blindness, infection, amputation, kidney disease, nerve pain and more. Worse, it was thought to be chronic and progressive, meaning there was no hope.

Dr. Fung does a brilliant job of building the reader’s understanding of T2D piece by piece and layer by layer. In fact, he starts with a very simple diagram and slowly adds to it as the chapters go by. If you were to see the whole diagram in chapter one, it would be overwhelming. By the end of this book, the etiology of T2D is very clear.

One thing I wasn’t too familiar with before this book was the variety of drug treatments offered for T2D. They were outlined nicely in this book with sufficient detail and warnings of the pitfalls. One commonality is that the drugs that lower blood glucose by raising insulin lead to weight gain and worsening of other disease endpoints. Managing blood glucose is not enough. Hyperinsulinemia is the real scourge here.

It’s pretty clear from reading this book that T2D is a lifestyle disease acquired primarily through poor diet. Pharma has yet to find a cure for a bad diet, so the only logical course of action is to replace a bad diet with a good diet. This is where Dr. Fung separates himself from the mainstream.

The treatment outlined in this book is a combination of a low-carb diet and fasting (both intermittent and extended). The ultimate goal is to reduce chronically elevated insulin. Since sugar (and to a lesser extent protein) stimulates insulin, the low-carb diet is an obvious first step. Dr. Fung goes one step further by recommending fasting, which leads to the lowest levels of insulin possible. The low carb diet is a lever you can only pull on only so hard before you can’t reduce carbs any further. The next logical step is fasting. After all, what else could lower insulin more than eating nothing at all? (I agree with Brunno that exercise is another lever that can be used in addition to or in place of fasting, provided it is high-intensity.)

One of my big takeaways from this book is the role of fructose in metabolic syndrome and T2D. Most cells of the body can’t do anything with fructose, so the liver has to handle it alone. By comparison, most glucose is taken up by the muscles, brain and other tissues, leaving only about 20% for the liver to deal with. Even just a week of excessive fructose can lead to insulin resistance. The liver handles fructose by converting it into fat. Too much fructose overloads the system and fat begins to accumulate in the liver. If this goes on for too long, fat spills over into the muscles, heart and pancreas. When the pancreas gets overloaded with fat, the beta cells that produce insulin become impaired and the body loses its ability to handle glucose and a person becomes type 2 diabetic.

For anyone with type 2 diabetes, this book is a must-read. If I were facing that disease, I would definitely want to be treated by a doctor like Jason Fung, who is guided by what works and not what is fashionable. That he’s successfully reversed diabetes many times over in his clinic offers a lot of hope. And his sense of humor and optimism make this difficult topic much easier to confront.

It is a great book. It is convincing, but simple to understand. Dr. Fung even begins with a short chapter in which he summarizes what type 2 diabetes is and how to correct it.

The best thing is that it is very easy to read, very educational, it helps a lot to understand type 2 diabetes, and to prevent or fight it in a simple way. And you find out things that I was completely unaware of, very curious.

It should be a must-read for all people suffering from diabetes or prediabetes to know what really happens to the body and where the problems come from.

Absolutely recommended and essential given that it is the current disease that affects the first world, and that kills you silently, almost more than other diseases. I loved it.

Amazing book, Jason Fung as always very didact in turn complex things in a easy understanding. I felt very educated in understand how physiological mechanism of obesity and Diabetes works. Throughout the book He builds a chart step by step and suddenly we have all the process in our mind.

Among the things I most learned, the role of De Novo Lipogênesis (DNL) and the start of insulin resistance inside the liver was new for me. I was trying to understand this process before but it was never very clear. Now I completly understand.

Also, He puts obesity as an attempt of the body solve the problem of too much fat (created by sugar) inside the liver and this was totally new for me. A Great perspective.

I'm critic about how he puts the role of exercise in cure Diabetes. Although exercise is not effective when it comes to caloric balance, if we look for evidence on Medline we can see a lot of studies showing exercise helps increasing insulin sensitivity. Maybe, he put studies that use the traditional way of making exercise (As proposed by ACSM). A comparation with high intensity programs and increasing in Insulin Sensitivity and reduction of DNL is needed.

Amazing book, one more time I could increase my comprehension about this topic.

Dr Jason Fung has this natural way to explain some difficult concepts in a very easy to understand book. 

The way he explains how our body protects it self from diabetes by storing fat, exporting triglycerides from the liver to other organs, raising our blood sugar, insulin resistance, sugary urine is so simple that it almost shocked me that we didn't think that way before.  
The treatments we tried for so long didn't work because it is only controlling the symptoms not the cause.  That too is so simple that it makes you almost want to be mad at the pass generations of doctors for not thinking about it.  

But like anything it is so easy to understanding it after the facts.  I recommend this book to anyone who thinks that if you are not fat you have no problems.  I also recommend it to all who have medication that treats symptoms of type 2 diabetes to learn that you can treat the cause and reverse your condition. 

There is hope to stop this pandemic with the help of doctors like Jason Fung.  Thanks for making this a fun read yet very instructive.  

Is the Diabetes Code the book for this month? I think The Hacking of the American Mind was the book for last month. 

Thank you for continuing to keep this book club running. I have learned so much in the past few months!